Last year’s happy hours, such as this one on skiing and climate change, were at once entertaining and informative. We’re looking forward to more of the same with this year’s lineup.

As excited as we are about the deep drill we’ll be doing on outdoor rec and our public lands at this year’s SHIFT, we’re also acutely aware of one thing: everyone who’s coming to SHIFT likes to have a good time (or they wouldn’t be into outdoor rec, right?).

What happens when the storytellers of outdoor recreation share a drink with the newsmakers at the heart of the story? Find out when participants from the Outdoor Blogger Summit and SHIFT gather at Hayden’s Post to continue the conversations begun during the Icebreaker networking session, which will have just concluded at the SHIFT Summit.

The second, also at 5, will take place in the King’s Grill, adjacent to the Snow King Resort Hotel on Snow King Mountain.

Connecting new people to public lands may be the best way to secure more funding for these places, in addition to helping prevent the public lands sell-off. However, making these connections can be challenging. As we learned at last year’s SHIFT Summit, outdoor leaders sometimes run into barriers to taking people out on public lands. This limits access for people who rely on trained leaders to facilitate their first public lands experience.

Fortunately, this is beginning to change. Since last year’s Summit, the land management agencies have taken steps to prioritize recreation and improve the permit system for facilitated recreation activities. The U.S. Forest Service in particular is working to change its culture around guided recreation management. Representatives from the Forest Service and the Outdoor Access Working Group will brief participants on significant recent developments in the management of recreation permits on federal lands and discuss ways in which outdoor leaders can collaborate with the agencies to secure new opportunities to connect people with their public lands.

Both Thursday happy hours will conclude at 6:30 p.m., at which point it’ll be time to walk down to the Center for the Arts for Terry Tempest Williams‘ presentation.

On Friday, October 14, also at King’s Grill on Snow King Mountain, Stio and IMBA will present the happy hour discussion, “Bicycles and Wilderness“.

Moderated by Luther Propst, the Chair of SHIFT’s parent nonprofit, The Center for Jackson Hole, and featuring Wood River Bicycle Coalition’s Brett Stevenson, Peter Aengst of The Wilderness Society, the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Eric Melson, and Randy Rasmussen of Back Country Horseman of America, the happy hour will be an interactive discussion summed up by the following:

Whether we hike, mountain bike or ride horses, we all want to see the lands in which we love to play protected. We also want to find a way to coexist as partners and friends with others who enjoy quiet, human-powered activity in wild areas. Presented by Stio and IMBA, this happy hour discussion explores how conservationists, mountain bikers, horseback riders and other “quiet recreationists” can work together to protect wild areas and recreational access at the same time.

Expect the panel to pose challenging questions for you to discuss with your neighbor, as we build on our collective knowledge to progress the trails community.

Of course, we want SHIFT participants to take advantage of something Jackson has in abundance as well: fresh air.

The Snow King Resort Hotel sits right at the bottom of world-famous Snow King Mountain. If the happy hours don’t suit you, after the SHIFT Summit, lace up your shoes, walk out the door and get some vertical, rent a bike and go for a ride, or walk over to the Teton Boulder Park and get a pump on! You’ll need some oxygen before the evening programs take your breath away.